The  Effect  of  Psychology 
On  Americanism 


GEORGE  EAMES  BARSTOW 


ISSUED  UNDER  THE  AUSPICES  OF 


THE  LITERARY  DIGEST 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
1920 


t 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/effectofpsycholoOObars 


Compliments  of 

George  Eames  Barstow 


Barstow,  Texas 


The  Effect  of  Psychology 
On  Americanism 


BY 

GEORGE  EAMES  BARSTOW 

( Ex- President,  International  Irrigation  Congress) 


ISSUED  UNDER  THE  AUSPICES  OF 
THE  LITERARY  DIGEST 

FOR 

7L$t  fe)0Cl£t£  Ot  P0gcl)0 1002 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 


1920 


Copyright,  1920,  by 

THE  SOCIETY  OF  APPLIED  PSYCHOLOGY 
[Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America] 


Copyright  Under  the  Articles  of  the  Copyright  Convention 
of  the  Pan-American  Republics  and  the 
United  States,  August  11,  1910. 


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The  Effect  of  Psychology 
On  Americanism 


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This  vital  subject  is  of  more  than 

passing  importance  to  every  cit¬ 
izen  of  the  United  States.  Not 
only  does  it  gravely  concern 
college  professors  and  pedagogs  in  their 
studies  and  class-rooms,  statesmen  in  shaping 
the  destinies  of  the  world,  commanders  of 
armies  in  marshalling  their  mighty  and  de¬ 
structive  forces  on  the  field  of  action,  and  the 
master  minds  of  industry  and  finance  in  the 
building  up  of  a  vast  system  of  world-wide 
credits,  but  it  is  also  of  incalculable  import¬ 
ance  to  each  and  every  artizan,  mechanic, 
farmer,  clerk,  or  other  worker  with  head  or 
hands  in  every  home,  factory,  and  business 

office  in  the  land.  Indeed  all  Americans  who 

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V 


are  in  any  wise  engaged  in  political,  judicial, 
occupational,  philanthropic,  or  religious  serv¬ 
ice  must  needs  employ  psychology  to  attain 
their  ends  or  fall  short  of  the  success  for  which 
they  hope.  We  should  lay  especial  emphasis 
upon  those  who  are  occupied  with  the  cares  of 
domestic  life,  than  which  there  is  no  career 
more  calculated  to  demand  the  highest  mental 
and  moral  qualities  if  one  is  to  make  good, 
paradoxical  as  this  may  seem  at  the  first 
glance. 

The  question  does  not  lie  as  to  whether  an 
American  has  one  or  more  talents,  for  in  any 
event  he  should  improve  what  he  has,  be  it 
great  or  small.  That  is  his  duty  as  well  as 
his  privilege.  For  we  Americans  not  only 
have  certain  well-known  constitutional  rights, 
which  we  all  highly  prize;  but  each  one  of 
us  has  also  certain  obligations  as  respects  the 
home  and  the  state,  which  he  can  not  afford 
to  ignore  for  his  own  sake  and  that  of  his 
country. 

Do  all  Americans  recognize  this  vital  truth? 
Are  they,  if  they  recognize  the  principle,  em¬ 
ploying  the  right  brand  of  psychology  in  per¬ 
forming  that  service?  I  trow  not! 

There  is  an  old-world  maxim,  “  Know  thy¬ 
self,”  which  contains  a  very  solid  substratum 

4 


of  truth.  Unless  they  obey  this  wise  injunc¬ 
tion,  modern  Americans  can  not  fully  and 
efficiently  perform  their  living  part  toward 
the  promotion  of  the  common  weal,  socially, 
politically,  or  industrially.  If  you  or  I  are 
called  upon  to  operate  any  given  machine,  of 
whose  workings  we  possess  no  accurate  knowl¬ 
edge,  our  efforts  will  probably  be  not  only 
fruitless  but,  as  likely  as  not,  destructive.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  we  possess  the  required 
knowledge,  we  enjoy  capital,  and  if  such  is 
our  good  fortune,  power  also  descends  upon 
us,  for,  as  Bacon  observed,  “  knowledge  is 
power.” 

The  knowledge  here  spoken  of  is,  remem¬ 
ber,  not  of  a  superficial  or  perfunctory  kind; 
but  implies,  rather,  an  understanding  of  each 
and  every  complex  part  of  one’s  being,  mental 
and  spiritual,  so  that  the  highest  efficiency 
may  obtain. 

Many  a  one  of  us,  if  he  cheerfully  and  un¬ 
selfishly  makes  a  keen  and  constant  analysis 
of  himself,  will  be  surprized  to  discover  that 
he  possesses  undreamed  of  latent  powers 
of  mind  and  soul.  He  will  be  surprized 
not  alone  at  the  unexpected  virtues  that  he 
has  unearthed  but  also  more  especially  at 

the  faults  and  weaknesses  that  his  self-exami- 

5  . 


nation  brings  to  light.  Just  as  an  able  phy¬ 
sician  diagnoses  all  parts  of  a  given  case  be¬ 
fore  he  prescribes  a  remedy,  so  we  must  view 
our  inner  selves  carefully  from  all  angles  in 
order  to  know  how  best  to  correct  what  needs 
correction  and  to  foster  what  calls  for  devel¬ 
opment.  If  a  mental  disease  is  discovered  in 
embryo  and  a  prompt  remedy  applied  there 
is  much  greater  likelihood  that  the  mind  so 
attacked  will  approximate  to  the  well-rounded 
type  whose  powers  will  eventuate  for  indivi- 
■*  dual  and  public  good. 

We  often  speak  of  certain  Americans  who 
have  well-balanced  minds.  What  do  we 
mean?  Why,  simply  that  their  judgment  is 
not  swayed  by  passion  or  prejudice  or  hatred. 
A  well-balanced  mind  is  one  that  in  the  per¬ 
formance  of  its  functions  is  calm  and  judicial, 
that  is  at  all  times  under  masterful  control, 
and  that  retains  its  poise  under  all  the  ebb 
and  flow  of  the  tides  of  man’s  experiences. 
To  such  a  mind  all  Americans  pay  due  re¬ 
spect  and  homage  and  gladly  recognize  its 
leadership.  We  are  often  told  that,  because 
of  the  individuality  of  Americans,  each  one 
is  fitted  to  become  a  leader.  But,  sad  to  re¬ 
late,  this  statement  is  by  no  means  true  and 
for  the  reason  that  so  many  Americans  fail  to 


possess  the  qualities  that  we  have  just  enum¬ 
erated. 

Why  is  it  that  to-day  in  many  departments 
of  the  leadership  of  Americans  in  all  the  ave¬ 
nues  of  our  functioning  there  are  to  be  found 
men  who  are  entirely  unworthy  of  the  con¬ 
fidence  of  the  people?  Because,  to  lay  the 
axe  directly  at  the  root  of  the  tree,  of  the  grave 
lack  of  even  a  rudimentary  knowledge  of 
psychology  displayed  by  these  men  in  all  their 
dealings  with  their  fellows,  of  their  lamenta¬ 
ble  inability  to  do  the  right  thing  at  the  right 
time  or  to  say  the  right  thing  in  the  right 
place.  All  the  people  do  some  thinking,  of 
course,  but  there  is  nevertheless  a  marked  ab¬ 
sence  of  sound  and  straight  reasoning.  Some 
few  of  us  are  guided  wholly  by  real  intelli¬ 
gence  and  by  rational  deductions  in  our  con¬ 
duct  of  our  daily  affairs,  but  the  people  en 
masse  are  carried  along  by  appeals  to  their 
selfish  interests  and  prejudices.  Hence  we  dis¬ 
cover  the  cardinal  importance  of  the  complete 
functioning  of  the  psychology  of  the  soul,  the 
living  influence  of  which  will  clarify  and 
stabilize  the  powers  of  the  intellect  and  the 
lack  of  which,  deplorably  common,  alas,  in 
these  individualistic  days,  spells  the  dwarfing 

and  narrowing  of  the  minds  of  America. 

7 


The  World  War  has  taught  at  least  a  minor¬ 
ity,  and  I  hope  a  large  majority,  of  Americans 
that  “  no  man  liveth  to  himself,”  and  has 
brought  home  to  them  that  greatest  lesson  of 
human  sacrifice  that 

“  The  fittest  place  for  man  to  die 
Is  where  he  dies  for  man.” 

Life  is  far  more  than  a  play-day — a  thing 
to  be  idled  away — prodigiously  more  than 
vain  tinsel  and  cheap  display  and  the  satisfy¬ 
ing  of  one’s  lusts  and  vanities  in  all  their  va¬ 
ried  forms.  In  such  selfish  and  careless  satis¬ 
faction  lie  the  seeds  of  dissolution  and  decay. 
From  these  possibilities  of  disruption  America 
is  no  more  immune  than  other  peoples  and 
nations,  save  only  in  so  far  as  she  learns  to 
understand  her  own  psychology  and  persist¬ 
ently  exercises  her  great  powers  to  buttress 
herself  against  the  forces  of  evil  that  are  so 
rampant  within  her. 

Life  should  be  and  is  joyful  and  gladsome 
if  meaning  to  each  one  of  us  the  accomplish¬ 
ment  of  the  noblest  and  best  that  lies  within 
our  minds  and  souls!  And  because  some  of 
us  have  not  been  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  a 

college  education,  or  to  receive  a  post-grad- 

8 


uate  training  in  the  universities  abroad  or 
even  a  full  common-school  course  at  home,  can 
we  plead  an  excuse?  Most  assuredly  not.  In 
the  parable  of  the  marriage  supper  we  are  told 
how  they  “  all  went  about  to  make  excuse,” 
how  these  people,  failing  in  that  hour  to  grasp 
the  opportunity  so  generously  offered  to  them, 
suffered  an  irretrievable  loss  in  morale  and 
power.  When  the  test  came  to  them,  when 
their  common  sense  and  common  gratitude 
were  put  to  the  proof,  they  failed  lamentably 
to  grasp  “  the  skirts  of  happy  chance.” 

Think,  on  the  other  hand,  of  such  a  daunt¬ 
less  soul  as  Abraham  Lincoln,  than  whom  no 
man,  dead  or  living,  is  more  revered  the  world 
around  to-day.  Consider  his  early  environ¬ 
ment,  his  exceptional  limitations,  the  almost 
utter  hopelessness  of  his  position  as  a  strug¬ 
gling  young  lawyer.  Yet  he  was  in  no  wise 
dismayed.  He  found  the  courage  to  “  breast 
the  blows  of  circumstance,”  and  hence,  and 
doubtless  largely  because  of  those  very  draw¬ 
backs  that  he  surmounted  so  successfully  and 
with  such  unexampled  spirit,  he  rose  to  be¬ 
come  one  of  the  little  company  of  the  world’s 
preeminent  apostles  of  a  genuine,  not  a  hypo¬ 
critical  democracy. 

One  of  the  wisest  sayings  that  has  come 

9  ' 


down  to  us  from  the  civilization  of  ancient 
Athens  is  embodied  in  the  proverb,  “  Many 
meet  the  gods  but  few  salute  them.”  No  col¬ 
lege  education,  no  great  social  or  intellectual 
ability  is  required  to  detect  the  one  moment 
that  is  divine  among  the  millions  that  are 
commonplace,  to  seize  upon  it  and  its  freight¬ 
age  of  hope  with  avidity  and  to  make  it  eter¬ 
nally  your  own.  All  that  one  needs  to  do  this 
successfully  is  to  be  alert,  to  be  confident,  to 
be  unafraid,  and  to  have  a  normal  endowment 
of  mother  wit.  Thousands  of  Americans  with 
no  more  to  help  them  than  this  have  risen  to 
the  very  pinnacle  of  success. 

The  principle  just  laid  down  in  our  inquiry 
is  a  matter  of  psychological  condition,  of  soul 
purpose.  Its  realization  involves  the  essence 
of  self-abnegation  and  connotes  the  adoption 
of  the  most  lofty  and  elevated  ideals.  And 
let  us  remember  that  by  and  through  such 
ideals  alone  can  men  and  women  develop  the 
power  to  attain  the  rarer  altitudes  of  thought 
and  action. 

Hence  our  manifest  duty  not  only  to  our¬ 
selves,  both  as  individuals  and  as  forward- 
looking  citizens  of  this  great  Republic,  but 
also  to  the  country  that  we  love  and  would 

see  endure,  is  to  cultivate  every  possible  means 

10 


of  knowing  our  own  personalities,  of  gaging 
our  deficiencies  and  our  advantages,  to  the 
end  that  we  may  overcome  the  former,  so  far 
as  is  humanly  possible,  and  encourage  the 
growth  of  the  latter  day  by  day,  month  by 
month,  and  year  by  year.  A  rigid  and  im¬ 
partial  stock-taking  of  our  inner  selves,  con¬ 
ducted  in  this  way,  can  not  fail  to  lead  to 
ultimate  self-knowledge,  to  complete  famil¬ 
iarity  with  the  mechanism  that  has  been  given 
us  wherewith  to  confront  and  successfully 
overcome  the  various  vicissitudes  and  adven¬ 
tures  of  life. 

And,  being  once  familiar  with  this  mechan¬ 
ism — this  wonderful  and  delicate  structure  of 
brain  and  brawn,  of  muscle  and  nerve,  this 
marvelously  balanced  composite  of  instinct 
and  intelligence,  of  crude  desire  and  culti¬ 
vated  taste,  this  age-old  battle-ground  for  the 
contending  forces  of  good  and  evil — we  can 
learn  to  control  and  guide  its  powers  with 
ever-growing  skill  into  the  road  that  leads  to 
success,  to  full  fruition,  and  to  rich  attain¬ 
ment.  Knowing  the  weak  places  we  can  favor 
them  until  they,  in  time,  grow  strong,  and 
realizing  the  power  of  our  strength,  we  can 
drive  always  forward  and  upward,  being  con¬ 
fident  that  every  demand  will  be  honored, 


every  strain  safely  met  and  finally  vanquished. 
We  shall  learn,  as  the  years  go  by,  more  and 
more  of  the  tremendous  potentialities  of  that 
subconscious  that  lies  dormant  within  us, 
ready  to  respond  instantly  to  the  right  stim¬ 
ulus,  whose  powers  of  accomplishment  are 
limited  only  by  the  will  and  the  courage  of 
the  mind  that  directs  them.  We  shall  find 
in  this  never-failing  reservoir  of  stored  energy 
strength  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  to 
perform  the  most  seemingly  impossible  task, 
to  carry  through  to  victory  the  most  appar¬ 
ently  unequal  contest.  All  this  and  more  will 
surely  accrue  to  each  one  of  us  if  he  or  she 
practises  diligently  the  study  of  self  and  the 
possibilities  of  self  with  a  view  to  utilizing  to 
the  full  the  powers  that  are  thus  discovered. 

It  will,  perhaps,  be  contended  that  environ¬ 
ment  is  an  enormous  factor  in  human  progress 
or  in  human  downfall.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  environment  plays  an  important  part  in 
our  failures  and  successes.  With  all  humans, 
life  is  a  struggle  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave, 
yet  multitudes  of  men  and  women  who  have 
passed  on,  and  a  large  throng  now  upon  life’s 
stage,  have  proved  to  the  world  that  the  most 
severe  and  trying  environments  have  not  been 
strong  enough  to  defeat  them  in  the  battle. 


Why?  Not  because  of  egotism  and  its  daily 
companion — vanity;  but  because  of  their  hum¬ 
ble,  noble,  and  ever-determined  purpose  to 
know  themselves  and  to  make  the  most  of 
nature’s  endowment  absolutely  regardless  of 
their  special  environments. 

Environment,  if  properly  envisioned  by  the 
human  mind  and  wisely  utilized  in  daily  life, 
assists  us  in  reaching  out  for  lofty  ideals.  But 
environment  alone  can  accomplish  but  little 
for  us.  Indeed  many  a  soul  has  failed  utterly 
to  utilize  the  values  of  its  surroundings  and 
retrograded,  when  had  it  but  been  also  pos- 
sest  of  stirring  ideals,  that  soul  would  have 
created  out  of  what  lay  nearest  to  hand  an 
atmosphere  of  the  highest  beauty  and  benefit 
both  to  itself  and  to  the  world  at  large.  As 
a  case  in  point  think  for  a  moment  of  our 
American  people  before  they  finally  entered 
the  great  World  War.  Was  not  their  en¬ 
vironment,  apparently,  about  all  that  could 
be  desired?  Yet  were  not  the  masses  of  the 
people  only  too  ready  at  first  to  listen  to  the 
plea  of  puerile  and  selfish  leaders  who  urged 
them  to  preserve  their  peace  and  prosperity 
by  abstaining  from  taking  a  part  in  the  world 
struggle  for  liberty  and  democracy?  But 
when  they  finally  entered  the  conflict  was  the 


desire  for  aggrandizement,  in  any  form,  the 
motive  power  that  drove  them  to  arms?  Far 
from  it!  When  once  a  definite  vision  of  the 
realities  underlying  the  war  had  presented 
itself  to  their  minds,  when  they  had  once  thor¬ 
oughly  grasped  the  fact  that  their  great  ideals 
were  endangered,  they  immediately  forgot 
themselves  and  arose  as  one  man  and  bent 
every  energy  they  possest  to  that  marvelous 
crusade  with  mighty  and  irresistible  power. 
Thus  we  find  that  the  principle  we  have  dis- 
cust  holds  good  with  nations  as  well  as  with 
individuals. 

To  take  another  example,  what  a  vivid  il¬ 
lustration  we  have  presented  to  us  in  the  ten¬ 
acity  and  purpose  that  have  been  displayed,  for 
hundreds  of  years  past,  by  the  Poles,  Czecho¬ 
slovaks,  and  Serbs.  Submerged  as  they  were, 
for  all  that  time,  by  a  harsh  and  cruel  politi¬ 
cal  and  economic  environment,  they  never 
lost  the  desire  to  realize  their  aspirations, 
never  abandoned  their  struggle  for  independ¬ 
ence,  a  struggle  which  we  now  see  in  process 
of  being  crowned  with  well-earned  success. 
Here  the  most  adverse  conditions,  the  most 
seemingly  hopeless  environment,  were  pow¬ 
erless  to  destroy  the  ideals  and  the  efforts  of 

a  stedfast  and  courageous  people.  And  again, 

14 


think  of  the  history  of  our  forebears  and  how, 
worn  by  long  years  of  persecution,  that  small 
company  of  ardent  souls  arose  in  their  moral 
power,  took  to  their  little  ships  and,  after 
enduring  all  manner  of  difficulty  and  hard¬ 
ship,  landed  on  New  England’s  rocky  coast 
in  order  that  full  expression  might  be  given 
to  the  vital  force  resident  within  them.  Con¬ 
sider  the  fruitage  born  of  such  souls,  the 
legacy  of  high  courage,  of  unselfish  devotion 
to  an  ideal  that  they  have  bequeathed  to  us, 
their  descendants. 

Man  is  an  animal  and  in  essence  like  other 
animals;  but  he  differs  from  them  greatly  in 
being  endowed  by  the  creator  with  a  mind  and 
soul.  The  Darwinian  theory,  that  man  has 
evolved  from  some  ancestor  common  to  him 
and  the  apes  and  monkeys,  may  satisfy  the 
coldly  scientific  mind,  but  how  much  more 
ennobling  is  the  conception  of  the  psalmist, 
when  he  declares,  in  his  inspired  speaking  of 
the  creator’s  marvelous  endowment  of  man: 

“  Thou  has  made  him  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels; 

Thou  has  crowned  him  with  glory  and 
honor.” 

If  each  man  is  willing  to  accept  this  axiom 

15 


wholeheartedly,  he  will  have  crossed  the 
threshold  that  bounds  old  experiences  of  bare 
existence  and  entered  upon  the  sure  highway 
of  self-mastery  and  of  really  noble  and  valu¬ 
able  achievement,  the  possibilities  of  which 
are  only  limited  by  his  natural  talents.  Of 
course,  if  any  American  deliberately  forbids 
light,  air,  and  water  to  his  being  he  need  not 
expect  later  to  enjoy  the  flower  and  fruitage 
that  these  would  inevitably  bring.  If  he  thus 
foolishly  abandons  his  birthright  he  can  not 
hope  to  become  a  potential  part  in  shaping 
the  lives  of  other  Americans  looking  toward 
the  preserving  and  upholding  of  the  funda¬ 
mental  and  cardinal  principles  laid  down  by 
our  forefathers. 

Now  that  man  has  definitely  arrived  at  what 
may  be  termed  the  psychological  stage  in  the 
course  of  his  proper  evolution  the  individual 
who  is  alive  to  the  possibilities  within  him 
will  almost  unconsciously  become  a  leader  of 
other  men  and  will  continue  in  power  and 
usefulness,  if  he  has  the  resolution  and  the 
foresight  ever  to  sit  on  the  foot-stool  of  humil¬ 
ity.  Too  many  men  fall  by  the  wayside  and 
are  left  behind  in  the  swift  onward  march 
of  progress  because  they  have  foolishly  over¬ 
looked  this  vital  principle.  Becoming  unduly 

16 


self-contained,  dwelling  with  overmuch  pride 
upon  their  own  personal  strength  and  ability, 
they  thereby  dwarf  their  souls  and  narrow  and 
emasculate  their  truest  selves.  Take  a  swift 
mental  survey  of  our  truly  representative  great 
men — captains  of  industry,  finance,  and  states¬ 
manship — and  the  principle  will  stand  forth 
in  high  relief. 

The  attempt  to  contravene  this  basic  law  of 
nature  evolves,  either  in  the  individual  or  in 
the  mass,  an  insatiate  egoism  and  intolerance. 
No  more  complete  or  brutal  illustration  of 
this  axiomatic  truth  has  been  found  in  his¬ 
tory  than  in  the  world’s  recent  experience  with 
the  German  people.  The  day  is  now  happily 
past  when  any  nation  can  by  force  compel  the 
rest  of  mankind  to  adopt  its  political  or  ethi¬ 
cal  ideas.  To-day  those  nations  alone  are  held 
to  be  great  and  are  permitted  to  expand 
which,  having  reached  a  broad  and  highly 
potential  psychological  development,  are  will¬ 
ing  so  to  function  as  to  lead  other  peoples  and 
nations  to  similar  high  standards  of  living 
by  the  sheer  force  of  a  good  and  honorable 
example.  Tho  a  tendency  to  relapse  into 
the  old  bad  ways  is  still  to  be  detected  once 
in  a  while  and  not  all  international  adjust¬ 
ments,  even  now,  are  effected  in  strict  confor- 

17 


mity  with  the  golden  rule,  nevertheless  a  grow¬ 
ing  realization  of  the  principles  we  have  enun¬ 
ciated  is  compelling  the  leaders  of  the  world 
to  adhere  more  and  more  closely  to  the  path 
of  idealism  and  the  time  seems  almost  within 
sight  when  the  dread  road  of  war  shall  be 
green  with  the  overgrowing  herbage  of  peace. 

To  what  then  does  all  this  lead?  Is  there 
not  of  necessity  more  responsibility  involved 
on  the  higher  plane  of  ethics  and  knowledge 
to  which  the  individual  or  the  nation  we  are 
considering  has  attained?  Of  those  to  whom 
much  is  given  is  not  much  expected?  Of  a 
surety,  yes.  The  obligations  of  Americans  do 
not  by  any  means  cease  when  they  have  set 
their  feet  firmly  upon  the  highway  of  knowl¬ 
edge.  Rather  are  their  duties  multiplied. 
And  at  this  stage  in  our  development  the 
cardinal  question  arises  into  what  channels  of 
service  are  we  to  direct  these  ascertained  pow¬ 
ers.  Now,  we  are  daily  and  hourly  confronted 
with  the  warring  forces  of  good  and  evil. 
Clearly,  if  I  am  a  sincerely  patriotic  Amer¬ 
ican,  I  must  align  myself  with  and  exercise 
my  powers  on  behalf  of  that  side  which  will 
contribute  to  the  molding  and  establishing  of 
social  order,  which  will  inculcate  the  love  of 

law  for  its  own  sake,  which  will  strive  al¬ 
ls 


ways  for  the  confirming  of  the  rights  of  pro¬ 
tection  to  life  and  property,  which,  finally, 
will  best  subserve  the  enjoyment  of  liberty  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

Americans  are  to-day  confronted  with  the 
powers  of  evil  in  most  drastic  forms.  These 
powers  are  the  more  dangerous  because  of  the 
fact  that  they  pharisaically  cloak  themselves 
in  the  garb  of  democracy.  Presenting  their 
alluring  plea  with  all  the  skill  of  Cleon  of 
Athens  they  seek  to  convince,  and,  alas!  too 
often  do  convince,  the  ignorant  and  unthink¬ 
ing  masses  that  they  will  lead  them  into  the 
promised  land  where  there  is  no  work  to  do 
and  where  a  bounteous  store  will  be  found 
upon  which  to  live.  Such  specious  prophets 
of  the  unattainable  are  merely  twisting  and 
dwarfing  the  psychology  of  those  who  are  so 
foolish  or  so  unfortunate  as  to  heed  their 
mouthings;  they  are  not  laboring  in  any  sense 
for  their  broad  uplift  and  for  their  best  hap¬ 
piness  in  life. 

Then,  too,  there  are  others,  well  inten- 
tioned,  cultured,  and  so-called  trained  men, 
who  voice  a  multitude  of  theories  that  lead 
their  votaries  far  afield  and  get  them  no¬ 
where,  to  the  disquiet,  if  not  to  the  actual  dis¬ 
ruption  of  organized  society.  Some  of  these 

19 


men  have  preached  a  doctrine  of  democracy 
in  industry  which  the  present  writer  has  had 
some  hopes  might  ultimately  prevail,  when 
worked  out  along  sound  and  judicious  lines. 
The  majority  of  them,  however,  have  sowed 
the  wind  broadcast  and  we,  as  a  nation,  are 
now  dangerously  near  reaping  the  whirlwind. 
The  labor  unions  all  over  the  country  seem 
to  be  coming  more  and  more  under  a  radical 
leadership  which  is  openly  defying  our  laws 
and  which  is  throwing  out  frequent  hints  as 
to  the  imminence  of  one  big  union  in  control 
of  all  local  unions  from  coast  to  coast.  If 
this  is  their  serious  intention  and  not  a  mere 
visionary  bugaboo  created  for  the  purpose  of 
alarming  the  employing  class,  then  we  are 
perilously  near  to  autocracy  in  industry. 
Now,  in  the  name  of  common  sense,  if  auto¬ 
cracy  must  prevail  in  this  land  of  present  lib¬ 
erty,  let  us  choose  a  majority  autocracy  of 
sound  intelligence,  rather  than  a  minority 
autocracy  of  ignorance,  viciousness,  and  de¬ 
struction.  We  have  only  to  look  at  the  present 
deplorable  condition  of  Russia  to  learn  what 
the  results  of  such  a  rule  would  be.  No  real 
American  would  for  one  moment  desire  to 
see  those  conditions  reproduced  in  our  beloved 
country. 


20 


We  have  to-day  the  most  urgent  need  for 
a  wider  mutual  understanding,  a  broader 
human  tolerance  on  the  part  of  every  citizen, 
rich  or  poor,  to  the  end  that  our  civilization 
may  tend  to  the  obliteration  of  widely  diver¬ 
gent  social  extremes  and  the  gradual  evolu¬ 
tion  of  a  moderately  well-to-do  class  that  shall 
embrace  practically  the  entire  population. 
From  extremes  of  poverty  and  wealth,  ever 
growing  more  and  more  widely  separated,  are 
bred  the  destroying  demons  of  anarchy,  of 
Bolshevism,  of  hatred  between  man  and  man 
— all  the  malevolent  forces  that  seek  to  de¬ 
stroy  the  splendid  fabric  that  our  fathers  have 
builded  for  us  and  that  we  are  in  duty  bound 
to  embellish  and  improve.  Given  a  reason¬ 
able  measure  of  sympathy  between  worker  and 
employer,  a  desire  on  the  part  of  either  to  be 
fair  and  just  to  the  other,  we  can  go  forward 
without  fear.  The  answer  to  this,  as  to  so 
many  other  burning  questions,  social  and  civic, 
lies  in  the  application  of  psychology,  the  in¬ 
troduction  into  the  dispute  of  a  little  homely 
common  sense.  No  man,  no  class  can  expect  to 
enjoy  all  the  benefits  and  evade  all  the  respon¬ 
sibilities.  All  classes  must  show  a  decent 
willingness  to  unite  together  in  sharing  the 

good  and  the  ill,  the  rough  and  the  smooth, 

21 

* 


for  the  common  benefit  and  the  common  ad¬ 
vancement. 

Here  we  have  two  apparently  opposing 
forces,  made  so  by  the  lack  of  diplomacy  and 
want  of  sweet  reasonableness  exhibited  by 
both  sides — capital  and  labor.  Capital,  as 
here  referred  to,  embraces  the  bourgeoisie,  the 
employing  class;  labor,  the  proletariat,  the 
employed  class.  But  these  two  classes,  if  they 
will  but  comprehend  what  is  for  their  own 
highest  good,  must  no  longer  be  Opponents. 
Their  mutual  advantage,  their  mutual  well¬ 
being  demand  that  they  shall  be  partners,  fel¬ 
low-laborers,  if  you  will.  All  alike  should 
work,  with  head  or  hand,  and  that  not  simply 
for  the  upbuilding  of  any  group,  or  associa¬ 
tion  of  groups,  but  for  the  general  good,  the 
advantage  of  society  as  a  whole.  One  of  the 
popular  parties  has  to-day  the  motto,  “  All 
for  one  and  one  for  all.”  This  can  not  be 
bettered,  but  it  must  refer  not  to  the  members 
of  a  single  class  or  an  isolated  section,  but 
to  all  men  and  women  equally  all  over  this 
broad  land. 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  to  be  over¬ 
come  in  the  adjustment  of  the  present  lack  of 
equilibrium  in  our  social  life,  in  the  gradual 

elimination  of  the  top-heaviness  at  one  end  of 

22 


the  scale  and  the  explosiveness  at  the  other, 
is  the  very  human  tendency  on  the  part  of 
both  sides  to  see  the  subject  only  from  their 
own  point  of  view.  This  must,  in  some  way, 
by  hook  or  by  crook,  be  gradually  eliminated, 
if  we  are  ever  to  enjoy  that  measure  of  social 
and  economic  peace  to  which  as  a  civilized 
nation  we  are  clearly  entitled.  Thus,  the  rad¬ 
ical  labor  leader  tells  us  loudly  and  insistently 
that  only  by  and  through  labor  has  capital 
come  into  being.  Granted;  but  does  that  de¬ 
stroy  the  converse  truth  that  capital  makes 
opportunity  and  provides  living  for  labor? 
Surely  not.  Does  it  justify  the  laboring 
classes  of  to-day  in  seeking  to  create  laws 
whereby  they  may  deprive  the  laboring  classes 
of  yesterday  of  the  wealth  they  have  accumu¬ 
lated  by  honest  endeavor?  What  sensible  man 
will  claim  that  it  does?  If  these  proposals, 
which  we  hear  very  freely  voiced  on  the  part 
of  some  of  our  radical  friends,  were  ever  to 
become  law,  all  initiative  would  inevitably  be 
destroyed  and  society  at  large — society  which 
includes  both  the  rich  and  the  poor — would 
be  the  sufferer.  Let  Dives  and  Lazarus  both 
remember  that  they  can  live,  be  it  in  a  palace 
or  a  cottage,  through  reciprocity  alone.  Their 

fortunes  are  inextricably  bound  together. 

23 


Neither  one  can  hope  to  survive  or  to  accom¬ 
plish  any  useful  end  without  the  other. 

Let  the  laborer  remember  that  because  of 
the  initiative  and  the  vision  of  such  men  as 
Carnegie,  Rockefeller,  Edison,  Hill,  Ford, 
and  their  kind,  the  foundations  of  ma¬ 
terial  prosperity  for  millions  of  human  be¬ 
ings  have  been  laid  in  these  United  States. 
Let  the  capitalist  reflect  that  without  the  help 
of  the  toiler  no  wheel  would  turn,  no  ship 
sail,  no  freight  move,  no  constructive  work 
of  any  kind  be  done  through  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land.  Let  them  both  realize 
that  theirs  is  a  partnership,  an  obviously  neces¬ 
sary  community  of  effort  that  is  as  old  as  the 
world,  very  nearly,  and  that  is  based  on  fun¬ 
damental  natural  laws.  Not  by  seeking  to 
dissolve  this  partnership,  out  of  and  by  means 
of  which  has  come  all  our  greatness,  all  our 
comfort  and  ease  of  to-day,  can  either  hope 
to  succeed  in  even  a  temporary  fashion,  but 
by  cementing  this  association  more  closely,  by 
making  its  ties  ever  broader  and  stronger,  and 
by  infusing  into  it  the  quickening  life-blood 
of  mutual  service  and  mutual  regard.  Here¬ 
in  lies  the  true  psychology,  the  real  Amer¬ 
icanism  that  will  lead  us  to  the  promised  land 

of  social  and  industrial  harmony. 

24 


The  sanction  of  public  opinion  in  America 
will  always  be  accorded  to  the  legitimate  de¬ 
sires  of  the  laboring  class,  unionized  or  non- 
unionized,  so  long  as  such  desires  are  based 
upon  social  justice  and  common  equity.  But 
they  can  never  expect  to  secure  the  country’s 
approval  when  they  undertake  to  accomplish 
their  ends  by  methods  that  make  for  or  in¬ 
volve  injustice  and  disorder.  The  foundations 
of  this  Republic  were  based  upon  the  propo¬ 
sition  that  all  men  everywhere  are  free  and 
equal,  so  far  as  opportunity  of  development 
is  concerned,  and  no  movement  that  seeks  to 
take  away  from  any  section  of  the  community 
that  equality  of  opportunity,  or  to  make  such 
a  section  in  anyway  dependent  upon  the  whim 
or  pleasure  of  another  group,  can  ever  hope 
to  enlist  the  permanent  sympathies  of  our  peo¬ 
ple,  even  tho  some  part  of  our  population 
may  be  momentarily  deluded  into  accepting 
its  doctrines  by  the  eloquence  of  misguided 
demagogs. 

Public  opinion  will  also  be  with  the  capital¬ 
ist  in  his  endeavors  to  promote  the  trade  and 
increase  the  wealth  of  the  country  while  legi¬ 
timately  and  fairly  conducting  his  business  en¬ 
terprises,  that  is  to  say  while  he  makes  a  rea¬ 
sonable  profit  for  himself  out  of  his  money 

25 


and  its  use  and  at  the  same  time  pays  to  his 
employees  a  good  living  wage  and  gives  them 
an  opportunity  to  participate  in  the  surplus 
earnings  of  the  industry.  In  a  word,  he  will 
always  be  sure  of  public  sympathy  and  ap¬ 
proval  if  he  works  toward  cooperation  in  the 
conduct  of  his  business  and  away  from  auto¬ 
cratic  management.  The  thoughtful  writers 
on  the  problem  of  industrial  direction  are 
to-day  practically  united  in  feeling  that  the 
tendency  of  the  times  should  be  toward 
giving  to  the  workman  responsibility  and  a 
voice  in  those  policies  of  a  business  that  con¬ 
cern  him,  toward  the  substitution  of  the  hu¬ 
man  and  personal  note  for  the  old  idea  of  a 
man  as  a  number  or  a  machine,  and  toward 
the  development  in  the  employed  of  creative 
instinct  and  of  the  feeling  of  craftsmanship. 
No  capitalist  who  is  willing  to  work  with  his 
men  along  such  lines  as  these  need  fear  the 
future. 

Let  the  organic  law  of  association  have  full 
sway.  Let  the  leaven  of  psychology  permeate 
the  masses  of  the  people.  Permit  the  spirit 
of  life  and  fellowship  to  enter  the  hearts  of 
capital  and  labor,  and  we  shall  find  a  solvent 
of  our  social  unrest,  we  shall  discover  a  vital¬ 
izing  influence  that  will  breathe  health  and 

26 


vigor  into  all  strata  of  society  and  contribute 
graciously  to  the  public  welfare.  Then  will 
all  individual  Americans  come  into  their  own 
and  the  nation  as  a  whole  will  have  found  its 
soul. 


t 


2  061796790 


